A Twist In The Heart
by Ms Amber
Summary: Everyone knows that Lionblaze has a HUGE 'cat' crush on Cinderheart. But what happens when someone else has Cinderheart's attention? Rated T for a bit of swearing and other things. Romance/Friendship FF. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A Twist in the Heart**

Chapter One

Lionblaze padded over to the fresh-kill pile and dragged a mouse over to Jayfeather. "Here," he meowed, dropping the fresh-kill at his paws. "I thought you might be hungry."

"I am, thanks," Jayfeather replied. Lionblaze was about to leave when Jayfeather asked, "Should we forgive Leafpool and Squirrelflight?"

"No!" Lionblaze spat. "They are traitors in this Clan!"

Jayfeather nodded, understanding. Lionblaze backed away from the den and rushed over to Brambleclaw. "Dustpelt, you lead a border patrol over to ShadowClan…oh! Lionblaze, could you take two or three cats with you over to the WindClan border?"

"Sure," Lionblaze replied. "Is Cinderheart busy?"

"I haven't assigned her for any tasks yet," Brambleclaw mewed.

"Great!" Lionblaze hurried over to Cinderheart. "Ready for a border patrol?" he asked.

Cinderheart replied, "Always am!" She looked around for her apprentice, who was sharing fresh-kill with Dovepaw. "Ivypaw! Dovepaw!" she called. "We're going on a patrol!"

In an instant, the two apprentices were in front of them. "Let's go!" Ivypaw squeaked.

"Is it a border patrol?" Dovepaw asked.

"You ask too many questions," Lionblaze purred. "Of course we are." He led the way out of the camp and towards the WindClan border.

All was quiet, but there was a hint of WindClan scent on ThunderClan territory. Fresh.

"Shhh…" Lionblaze hissed. "WindClan warriors ahead."

Cinderheart crouched next to him and glanced at him with deep blue eyes. "We should warn Firestar and the others," she suggested quietly.

"Too late to go warn your kittypet leader," a voice spoke up from in front of them.

Lionblaze snarled, "Onestar!"

"This territory is now ours," Onestar declared. "Unless you'll fight for it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Cinderheart gasped with shock. "You're just cats that don't follow the warrior code," she hissed. "Dovepaw! Go get help! NOW!"

Dovepaw quickly scampered away.

"Catch her!" Onestar commanded. "Make sure you give her a scar that she'll never forget." Three warriors nodded and pelted after her.

Lionblaze felt angry. _Furious, _to be exact. "Lay one claw on her," he growled threateningly to Onestar, "and I'll rip your throat out."

"Are you so sure you can beat me?" Onestar's voice was sneering. He turned to Ashfoot, his deputy, who was one tail-length away. "Go get more backup so we can defeat this Clan."

"NO!" Lionblaze propelled himself forward, clawing the WindClan leader's face with all his strength. Onestar screeched in pain and attempted to throw him off, but Lionblaze held his ground. Cinderheart was battling Ashfoot, who was trying to run back to her camp to fetch help. Cinderheart grappled with Ashfoot as Lionblaze kept Onestar pinned down. "Even a Clan leader can't even beat me," he taunted.

Onestar yowled with anger and scarred the earth. "You'll regret this, Lionblaze," he snarled. In the corner of Lionblaze's eye, he could see WindClan warriors racing towards him. _Fox-dung!_

"You can't fight your own battles, I see," Lionblaze hissed. "You're just a weakling; always will be."

"LIONBLAZE!" Cinderheart shrieked suddenly. "Where's Ivypaw?"

Onestar sneered, "She's gone, Lionblaze. She's in our paws unless you give us this territory."

"That's a LIE!" Lionblaze yowled. "I know you don't have her; I'll find her myself. Do you want me to bite your neck off your head?"

Suddenly Harespring bowled him over and Lionblaze skidded across the earth. The WindClan warrior was helping Onestar up once Lionblaze struggled back to his paws.

"ATTACK!"

Lionblaze couldn't tell whether it was ThunderClan backup or WindClan's. He looked behind him and was relieved when he saw Dovepaw racing towards him. "They were already coming before I reached camp," the apprentice informed him breathlessly.

"How did they know?" Lionblaze asked, curious.

"Dustpelt told me that Sandstorm went out hunting with her patrol near the WindClan border and scented intruders," Dovepaw explained. "They went back to camp only to realise that our patrol had already left and was heading over to the WindClan border."

Lionblaze nodded before looking around for the cats that needed the most help. He saw that Ashfoot was attempting to run towards the WindClan border, and Cinderheart was stopping her, although the ThunderClan warrior was panting hard.

With a yowl, Lionblaze leaped toward the WindClan deputy and knocked her down to the ground. Cinderheart gave Lionblaze a nod and together they both clawed and bit Ashfoot. Lionblaze was sure that he could hear the WindClan warrior Leaftail run towards him.

"Cinderheart," he hissed. She looked at him. "I'll deal with Leaftail. You stop her from getting help in WindClan territory."

Cinderheart nodded and Lionblaze saw the dark tabby tom pelting towards him. As Leaftail leaped, Lionblaze ducked, and instead the WindClan warrior landed on Cinderheart!

Cinderheart yelped with shock and glared at Lionblaze. "I thought YOU were dealing with him?" she mewed, but there was no frustration in her eyes, only amusement. "If you're so high and mighty, then how about help me get this warrior off?" She lashed at Leaftail while turning to look if Ashfoot had moved from where she was lying down.

Lionblaze shrugged. "Okay," he replied, but instead it was Mousewhisker who leaped at Leaftail.

"Thanks!" Cinderheart gasped, and she quickly left Lionblaze to deal with Ashfoot while she helped Dovepaw who was struggling under Furzepaw's grasp.

"Where's Ivypaw?" Mousewhisker demanded to Lionblaze as Leaftail was sent 'packing his bags' to a bush.

"I don't know!" Lionblaze replied. "She was missing before you guys came. Onestar claimed that he's holding her hostage, but I'm not too sure..."

Mousewhisker hissed, "Then let's just race to WindClan territory and bring her back!"

"Why are you so worried? She could still be in the heat of the battle."

"Aren't YOU worried?"

Lionblaze sighed. "Of course, but let's just wait for this battle to end before we go searching for her."

"But that's when the battling WindClan cats RETURN to their territory, and we're not welcome there after the battle anyway," Mousewhisker protested. "You're telling me you don't know this?"

_I'm too into the fighting to care about Ivypaw!' _Lionblaze thought. _She's not one of the three anyway, so why should I care?_

Suddenly Onestar yowled, "WindClan, RETREAT!"

All the WindClan warriors fled back to their own territory, and all the ThunderClan cats yowled in victory as Ashfoot yowled to Lionblaze, "You should've listened to your horseplace friend, you know. Ivypaw IS in our paws, and the only way you can get her back is to give us our desired piece of territory!"

"Or maybe we could just raid over your camp and get her back!" Lionblaze shot back.

Ashfoot growled and scampered off to catch up with her Clan members, who were wailing with pain and anger.

Firestar turned to Lionblaze. "You're fine, right?" The warrior nodded, but then saw Mousewhisker glaring at him through slitted eyes. "What?" he asked.

"Where's Ivypaw?"

This time Lionblaze looked around carefully. The silver and white tabby was not in sight. He turned to Mousewhisker and replied slowly, "Well, I can't seem to find her. Maybe she went back to camp?" he suggested hopefully, but the warrior obviously didn't believe him.

_It's like Mousewhisker's in love with her or something! _Lionblaze thought as Firestar sent a patrol to re-scent the border marks that was ORIGINALLY there. The rest padded back to camp, and Lionblaze caught sight of Dovepaw walking towards him.

"Have you seen my sister?" she asked.

Lionblaze sighed. Why was everyone worried about that bratty apprentice? "No, I haven't seen her," he meowed back. "Did she go to camp with you?"

Dovepaw shook her head. "No," she replied. "Ivypaw was definitely with you and Cinderheart when I left to warn Firestar and the others."

Now Lionblaze was worried. Was Onestar right, and Ivypaw was taken hostage? He growled, "If she's in WindClan camp, I'll..."

Suddenly, Jayfeather appeared, and he demanded, "Who's the one with the worst wounds? We can't afford to have any injured, otherwise if WindClan wants to attack again; we won't be ready for them."

While the worst ones were being treated, the others padded back to camp. Firestar was already there, and he was summoning a meeting. _Probably about the battle, that's why._

"As you all probably know," Firestar began, "there was a battle between us and WindClan."

There were hisses and growls and a few cats were yowling with rage.

As the noise quieted down, Firestar went on, "We cannot seem to find Ivypaw anywhere. Many are convinced that she was kidnapped by the WindClan cats, but I believe that she is just –"

"WHAT?" It was Whitewing's voice. She was shivering uncontrollably, as though she couldn't believe it. Birchfall glared at Firestar.

"She's not captured, is she?" he snarled. "If she is..."

Firestar ignored them. "This meeting is OVER!" he turned back and headed to his den.

There was continuous muttering among the Clan, and Lionblaze whispered to Cinderheart, "I'm convinced that she went out for a walk."

Cinderheart shook her head sadly. "She's definitely in the paws of WindClan."

Lionblaze sighed. "Firestar will get her back; don't worry."

"I hope so."

"Hey, Cinderheart!" It was Mousewhisker's voice. _Oh, it's the nuisance furball again, _Lionblaze thought tiredly.

"I'm going for a rest," Lionblaze told the two warriors, and he left.

But on the way, he heard their conversation:

"I'm sorry that Ivypaw went missing," Mousewhisker meowed.

"... don't worry about it," Cinderheart replied. "She's probably out for a walk."

Mousewhisker purred. "How about I cheer you up by going hunting together?"

Cinderheart looked up eagerly. "Okay!" she answered and they quickly raced out of camp. Lionblaze felt a twinge of jealousy. Was it that Mousewhisker was very fond of Cinderheart? Did Cinderheart like Mousewhisker? Lionblaze's envy grew bigger.

_You're not getting Cinderheart, Mousewhisker! She's mine!_

...

**A/N: **Sorry if it wasn't really interesting! Please review on it! Thanks :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**A/N: **I've come back from holidays! Please enjoy this chapter!

* * *

"Lionblaze." The warrior looked up to see Firestar staring at him. Lionblaze quickly leaped to his paws, embarrassed that he overslept. It was already sunhigh, but after the battle, all the energy had drained out of him. He ducked his head in apology.

Firestar purred with amusement. "I wasn't going to scold you for sleeping in," he meowed. "I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Lionblaze asked, eager to find out what it was.

"Ivypaw hasn't returned yet, and I'm convinced that she has been caught hostage by the WindClan warriors," Firestar explained. "And I only trust you to go and spy on them." Lionblaze felt privileged at the leaders' words. Firestar continued: "If Ivypaw is there, report back immediately and do your best not to get caught."

Lionblaze nodded. "I'll do my best, Firestar," he replied.

"Good," Firestar answered, and before he left he gave Lionblaze a look of determination, as though even if Ivypaw was captured, they will not cower under WindClan. Once the ThunderClan leader left, Lionblaze thought of eating first before he left. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile.

While he devoured a squirrel hungrily, Lionblaze caught sight of Jayfeather padding up to him. "Your injuries OK?" the medicine cat asked.

"Fine," Lionblaze answered.

"Firestar told me about the fact that you're going over to WindClan territory," Jayfeather continued. "Because we're part of the Three, Firestar wants us to know everything we're doing," he added in a whisper so that no one could hear.

"Does that mean Dovepaw knows of this, too?" Lionblaze asked.

"Hmm... I guess so." Jayfeather shrugged. "But if Firestar told her, then she'd be stomping to us right now and saying that it's against the warrior code and all that stuff." Lionblaze laughed. Dovepaw was just like Hollyleaf; bossy, dedicated to the warrior code... he sighed. It was hard to remember his sister, whom he thought that was part of the Three in the prophecy.

Lionblaze got to his paws, doing a huge stretch before he meowed, "I'm going to WindClan territory now."

"Why now?" Jayfeather asked. "You could do it a little bit after sunhigh. The WindClan border patrol must be out now."

"It'd be easy to get away from them," Lionblaze replied. He said his goodbye to Jayfeather and padded off for WindClan territory. A few mouse-tails before the border was in sight, Lionblaze could hear bushes rustling behind him. The ThunderClan warrior swung around to see Dovepaw's tail sticking out.

He sighed. "Come out, Dovepaw," he mewed, and his apprentice stalked out of the bushes. "Why are you here?"

"I want to go with you," Dovepaw replied, to Lionblazes' surprise. "If Ivypaw really is there, I want to go and see her," she continued.

Lionblaze blew out a puff of air when he saw the look of determination spread across her face, as though she would even fight him to be able to go and see her sister. "Fine," he growled softly. "Just do as I say. We don't want to get caught, OK?"

Dovepaw nodded eagerly and they stalked quietly past the WindClan border. They couldn't see any border patrol, to their relief, and they were able to walk more quickly now. It wasn't a heartbeat later until once they reached the WindClan camp.

"What if they smell us?" Dovepaw asked.

"Don't worry," Lionblaze assured her.

"Can we wait until sundown?" Dovepaw mewed.

Lionblaze agreed by nodding his head. From the sound of it, the camp was very busy. Firestar shouldn't mind, Lionblaze thought. He turned to Dovepaw. "What can you see in the camp?" he asked.

Dovepaw closed her eyes. "Umm... I can see many WindClan warriors running everywhere... oh! Heathertail's heavily pregnant." Lionblaze stiffened. Heathertail was pregnant? "Breezepelt's meowing in fear at Barkface... and uhh... I can hear some cat hissing angrily." Her voice grew in panic until she was wide-eyed at Lionblaze.

"What?" Lionblaze asked.

"Ivypaw's there!"

"WHAT?" Lionblaze was in total shock, and he forgot to keep his volume down. Luckily, because the camp was so busy, no one could hear the two shocked ThunderClan cats.

"She's spitting in frustration at Leaftail," Dovepaw whispered. "And the other guard... Emberfoot – I think – is going into the den where Ivypaw is. And he's telling her to shut up. How dare he...!"

"Calm down, Dovepaw," Lionblaze meowed, even though he, too, was really mad. "Shouting won't help. Whatever you say is not going to free Ivypaw from the den. We should just report back to Firestar now, because he told me that once we find out that Ivypaw is in the den, we –"

Dovepaw glared at Lionblaze. "We're going to get her back, that's what!"

"No! We'll get caught! So let's just get back alrea –"

"If you're not going, then I'll just go and fetch her back without you!" Dovepaw snapped, and she went on glaring at the WindClan camp, wondering what's going on.

"And get yourself captured as well?" Lionblaze asked, frustrated. "Then you'll just be a burden – and an extra worry – to the Clan and especially Whitewing and Birchfall!" Dovepaw glanced at him. "We will get her back; we just need a few more cats to battle with WindClan while we go and retrieve Ivypaw."

Dovepaw sighed, defeated. "OK," she replied. "We'll go back... after sundown, at least," she added, and her eyes seemed to flash.

"I'm OK with that, provided that you keep that promise," Lionblaze answered.

"Yeah, I will."

They stared at the WindClan camp, telling each other what was happening. During the time that they were talking, Dovepaw exclaimed, "Oh! Heathertail's kits have just given birth."

Lionblaze felt a flash of curiosity pass through him, and he asked, "What do they look like?"

"There's two kits," Dovepaw reported. "Two she-cats. One's got pitch-black fur with amber eyes, and the other's got pale brown fur with really pale blue eyes. The black one resembles Breezepelt, and the other is very alike to Heathertail, although it's got a tinge of golden-brown on it; your fur colour. You can see it if you observe her fur colour properly."

Lionblaze gulped. Golden-brown? He had golden-brown fur. Did that mean that one of Heathertails' kits half-belonged to him? "What are their names?" he asked.

"Well, right now they're talking about it. Breezepelt's offering suggestions like 'Shinekit' and 'Hollowkit', but Heathertail's decided to call the black one 'Darkkit'." Lionblaze knew why Heathertail called that particular kit that. First of all, her fur colour. And also because of the fact that when they were younger in the tunnels, they always played with each other pretending they were DarkClan cats.

"The pale brown one is called... 'Goldenkit'. What weird names!" Dovepaw commented.

"It must have been because of the –" Lionblaze didn't finish, because they heard some cat hiss behind them.

"What are you doing in my territory?" the voice was Crowfeathers'.

Lionblaze turned around, claws unsheathed. He was about to pounce when Dovepaw asked, quite bravely: "Why did you capture Ivypaw?"

Crowfeather hissed back, "It was not MY idea to go and keep her hostage. That was my son's idea. Go and ask him why if you want to know so desperately."

"How did he convince Onestar to capture my sister?" Dovepaw asked, alarmed. Lionblaze was totally shocked. So it was BREEZEPELT who told Onestar to capture Ivypaw. Why did Breezepelt want to do that? He knew it meant war and more death. Was it because he WANTED a battle? Was it that Tigerstar was influencing him too like he did to Lionblaze himself before?

The WindClan warrior shrugged. "I don't know. It seemed that Onestar had thought of that idea, too." He glared at us. "Now get out of here before I alert the rest of the Clan!"

"We were planning to go now, anyway," Lionblaze replied coldly, and he gave his father a frustrated glance before he added to Dovepaw, "Let's get out of here now."

Dovepaw was disappointed, but followed her mentor anyway.

* * *

"... and then we left before any of the WindClan cats knew," Lionblaze concluded. He left out the part when Crowfeather found them in WindClan territory, in case anyone asked him if he said anything about Leafpool or anything related to that.

Birchfall sprang to his paws. "How dare they capture my daughter?" he snarled. "If they injure her in any way, I'll –"

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Firestar snapped. "Killing is not allowed, if that's what you're thinking. Yes, I too am pretty angry that Onestar actually captured one of our apprentices, and I will lead a raid to retrieve her back."

"But they would obviously be expecting the attack!" Sorreltail protested. "Why else would they capture her?"

There was a moment of silence as the Clan cats thought. Lionblaze knew that WindClan would be waiting for them as they led the battle into the camp. They could be waiting for them now. Maybe Crowfeather warned them that ThunderClan could be coming, so that his loyalty could be proven to WindClan.

"We could just sneak into camp and bring her out," Dovepaw suggested. "At least a way to bring my sister back to ThunderClan!"

"That is very risky," Firestar warned.

"But it could work," Whitewing answered.

"I could go and bring her back," Cinderheart called from where she was standing.

Lionblaze was about to offer as well, so that he could have some time alone with her, but then Mousewhisker spoke up first, "I'll go, too. Anything to bring Ivypaw back."

Jealousy was the first thing that Lionblaze felt when Firestar nodded. "We'll try that idea first," he said. "And if it fails, then we'll have to fight to get her back. Meeting dismissed." Cinderheart gave Mousewhisker a nod of gratitude, and Lionblaze didn't miss the look of happiness in her eyes as the two warriors padded side by side into the warrior's den.

Lionblaze didn't notice Dovepaw padding up to him. "You're jealous, aren't you?" she asked. "It must be sad to see Cinderheart padding away with another tom."

"... I guess." He was still staring at the warrior's den. Then he glanced at his apprentice. "That's not important now," he meowed. "What's more important is getting your sister back."

"It's all thanks to Cinderheart and Mousewhisker for volunteering to get her back," Dovepaw meowed, her eyes shining. "Then, at the next Gathering, we can shout at WindClan all we like!"

"Do you plan to wait to get your sister back, Dovepaw?" Lionblaze asked.

"Well..." Dovepaw looked down at her paws. "I'd like to get her now if I could..."

"We can get her back ourselves," Lionblaze continued. "Why do we have to wait?"

Dovepaw gaped at him. "A-are we even allowed to do that?" she demanded. "We'd get into serious trouble!"

"Not really, if we can bring her back to the Clan, right?"

His apprentice thought carefully for a moment, and then she looked up at him, her eyes shining with determination. "I'll take that risk, if that means getting Ivypaw back."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Lionblaze meowed. "Let's go now!"

Looking left and right, Lionblaze quickly ran out of the tunnel, which was unguarded at the moment. Dovepaw pelted after him.

_If this means getting Cinderheart back, _Lionblaze thought, _then I'll do it!_

* * *

**A/N: **Hope that was interesting! Please review, and I'll update soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter ****Four**

**A/N: **Welcome back to A Twist In A Heart! Now, on with chapter four before I talk too much!

* * *

"I think I have second thoughts about this now..." Dovepaw muttered doubtfully.

Lionblaze snorted. "Well, it's too late, now that we're in WindClan territory," he pointed out. Dovepaw kept meowing about what would happen once they came back from retrieving Ivypaw. "See? The WindClan camp is in sight now. If we turn back now, you'd still get into trouble anyway."

His apprentice nodded slowly. "But if Firestar blames everything on me, I'll say that it was your idea!"

"He wouldn't dare blame me, though!" Lionblaze purred back.

Soon they had reached the WindClan camp. Lionblaze quickly checked the entrance. "There's a guard posted there," Dovepaw told him. Lionblaze nodded to confirm this. "We may have to go into camp another way then," Dovepaw continued. "There's a little gap that leads to the medicine cat den. We could go through there, but we have to hide our scent so Barkface doesn't know."

"Yes," Lionblaze nodded. "Let's try that. We have to get Ivypaw back before dawn."

The slipped silently into the WindClan medicine cat den. Barkface was sorting out herbs, not asleep yet even though it was almost moonhigh. He froze for a moment, and the two ThunderClan cats froze, worried that Barkface had found them already. But the medicine cat just returned to his herbs.

"How are we going to get past him?" Dovepaw hissed quietly in desperation.

"Well..." Lionblaze didn't really know what to do. If Barkface refused to sleep after a while, then the only way was to talk to the medicine cat. "We could try to..." He never finished, because he accidentally stepped on a twig.

Dovepaw glared at him. "Now we're dead!"

Barkface looked at where the two cats were hiding. "I knew you were there before that stick snapped, you know," he growled. "Come out already and tell me what you want."

Hesitantly, both Dovepaw and Lionblaze stalked out of their excellent hiding place. Dovepaw was really scared; you could tell by the way she was shivering uncontrollably. But Lionblaze faced the medicine cat bravely.

"We're coming to get Ivypaw back," he answered.

Barkface sighed. "I knew something like this was going to happen."

"Why did Onestar want to capture one of our cats?" Lionblaze asked curiously.

"Onestar never really thought about capturing Ivypaw in the first place, you know," Barkface replied. "During a meeting about Heathertail's birth to kits, Breezepelt asked Onestar about stealing ThunderClan territory."

"He said that?" Dovepaw gasped, and then quickly slapped her tail across her mouth. They weren't supposed to be talking so loud.

Luckily, no one heard their chatting, and so Barkface continued on.

"Onestar said that ThunderClan would be guarding their borders very carefully instead of carelessly leaving it for us to take, but Breezepelt kept protesting until he thought up of the idea of capturing one of ThunderClan's cats." Barkface sighed. "I can't believe that Onestar actually liked the idea."

"So you're against this?" Lionblaze asked.

"Well, what did you think?" Barkface meowed. "That I would let Onestar do this? StarClan wouldn't allow it, you know."

"Then why didn't StarClan stop it?" Dovepaw asked.

Barkface shrugged. "Sometimes StarClan can't do anything to help. I understand that."

"Then will you help us retrieve our apprentice back?" Lionblaze mewed.

"I can't really do much," Barkface replied, "but all I can tell you is that Ivypaw is heavily guarded by WindClan's best warriors. The prisoner's den was just recently made by Breezepelt. He just turned the leader's den into a prisoner's den."

"And Onestar actually let him?" Dovepaw demanded silently.

"Onestar was against this!" Barkface snapped back, but knowing that he had to keep his voice quiet. "But then, well... something happened that I do not know of, and then... that's it."

"So Breezepelt took control of WindClan, practically... for a while," Lionblaze added.

"I guess so..." Barkface answered. "Currently Harespring and Breezepelt himself are guarding the den where Ivypaw is in. If you want to get her, the only way to get in is through the side of the leader's den. That was meant to be a secret exit for Onestar if there was an emergency."

"No one's guarding that?" Dovepaw asked.

"No one knows about it except for me and Onestar," mewed the medicine cat. "So you can fetch her quite easily."

Lionblaze nodded. "Thanks for your help, Barkface," he meowed politely.

Barkface snorted. "If you do get caught, please don't mention anything about me."

"Of course we won't!" Dovepaw squeaked. "You've been a big help to us. Right, Lionblaze?"

"Yeah." Lionblaze was staring at the sky. The moon was bright above the sky. "We'd better go and fetch Ivypaw now," he added. "Before dawn comes, and we're busted."

Barkface purred at this. "You sneaked out to fetch your Clanmate without telling Firestar?" he guessed.

"Not like I liked the idea," Dovepaw muttered. "Thanks for your help... uhh, how do we get to Ivypaw's prison den?"

"Well, there's a patch of long grass not far from where the medicine den is," answered Barkface. "If you crouch low enough, you'll reach there without being spotted, although you're very close to the nursery, and the kits wake up any time, so you have to be careful."

"We'll make sure that they don't catch sight of us," Dovepaw declared. "I know all their tricks."

"This is WindClan, not ThunderClan," Barkface pointed out. "You don't know WindClan kits. They're the best at finding cats hiding in long grass."

Lionblaze sighed. "Can we just get on with getting Ivypaw back?" he asked, interrupting the chit-chat.

"Oh, right!" Dovepaw mewed. "Umm... before we go, Barkface, do you have anything to hide our ThunderClan scent?"

"If you roll yourself up in the grass you should be fine."

"Oh... OK." Dovepaw rolled herself in the grass, and after a while of hesitating, Lionblaze followed her. Once the scent of ThunderClan faded from their pelts, Lionblaze asked Dovepaw, "What's Breezepelt and Harespring doing now?"

"Harespring's complaining that he can't catch up on his beauty sleep," Dovepaw replied, amused. "But Breezepelt's snapping at him, and I can't really catch what he's saying... something about work to be done and... gaining control of WindClan..."

"What?" Lionblaze hissed. Barkface wasn't really listening; Lionblaze was certain that the medicine cat was asleep.

"Is... is this about the Dark Forest?" Dovepaw asked. "As in, Tigerstar telling Breezepelt to gain control of WindClan? Then what about Onestar?"

"I think there's something going on here," Lionblaze replied, his suspicion towards the WindClan warrior growing until it swelled up inside his head. "But what's more important is getting Ivypaw back right now. We can worry about Breezepelt and his stupid ambition later."

Lionblaze padded out of the den and quickly squashed his belly to the ground so that he could not be seen. His pelt did a bit of help by camouflaging him in the grass, but he could still be seen quite easily by kits. Dovepaw mimicked Lionblaze as they stalked quietly towards the patch of long grass.

"Shh!" That was Breezepelt's voice. The two ThunderClan cats stiffened. "I think I hear something. Wait – let me go and check."

"Mouse-dung..." Dovepaw whispered. "Now what?"

"Be quiet," Lionblaze hissed, his voice barely heard.

Breezepelt padded towards the nursery, where Lionblaze and Dovepaw were. Except they didn't make it to the long grass in time. They were really going to get busted. Then Lionblaze breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the shape of a cat leaving the nursery. Then he froze when he noticed that it was Heathertail herself.

"Heathertail!" Breezepelt mewed. "What are you doing awake so late? You should be getting some rest."

"I couldn't sleep for some reason," Heathertail confessed. "I think it's from the excitement from having kits..."

Lionblaze felt a growl rising from his throat, but he pushed it down. He liked Cinderheart more, anyway.

"Well, if you can't sleep, how about ask Barkface for poppy seeds?" Breezepelt asked. If Heathertail agreed, then both Lionblaze and Dovepaw would be caught, unless Heathertail allowed them to go and fetch Ivypaw, which is unlikely, because Heathertail still held a grudge against Lionblaze.

Heathertail shook her head. "I'll just take a stroll around the territory," she answered.

"OK," Breezepelt agreed, "but be careful. There could be ThunderClan cats lurking around, ready to capture one of our cats so that they can get their stupid apprentice back."

Lionblaze felt Dovepaw bunch her muscles together, as though all she really wanted was to sink her claws in Breezepelt's throat. Lionblaze himself felt that way.

"She's only an apprentice," Heathertail pointed out. "You should've just captured a warrior instead."

"But there are only about a couple of apprentices in ThunderClan," Breezepelt protested. "And it's too late to change anything, you know."

"I guess," Heathertail replied. She exited the camp and Breezepelt returned to where he was guarding the den where Ivypaw was in. Lionblaze moved his tail ever so slightly to indicate that they were safe to keep moving. Soon, they reached the patch of grass that Barkface was talking about.

"Then... how do we get to Ivypaw's den?" Dovepaw hissed.

"When Heathertail returns, of course," Lionblaze whispered in reply. "Breezepelt and Harespring will have their attention on her, and the entrance to the camp is opposite the leader's den, so then we should be able to slip in the den without getting caught. And to get out... we can just run out?"

"But we'll get caught," Dovepaw whispered back in protest.

"So? At least we'll still make it out with Ivypaw."

"But then..."

"We have a reason for being in WindClan territory, right?"

"... true, but..."

"Then we'll do what I said." Lionblaze concentrated on the nursery, in case any naughty kits came out. Dovepaw had her mind focused on the den with Ivypaw in it. They waited in silence until they heard rustling in the entrance.

Heathertail had come back. But that was quite quick.

"Why did you come back so quickly?" Harespring asked the WindClan queen, padding towards her. Breezepelt went after him, leaving the den unguarded.

"I'm growing sleepy now," Heathertail replied. "Umm... I noticed a few herbs that looked fresh growing just near the ThunderClan territory..."

"Let's go now," Lionblaze hissed, and after Dovepaw nodded, they quickly scooted towards the prisoner's den. No one noticed them as they entered the den. Ivypaw was sleeping, her tail covered over her eyes as though she didn't want to see anyone.

"Ivypaw..." Dovepaw prodded her sister gently, like she usually does when she wakes Ivypaw up. The ThunderClan apprentice opened her eyes and withdrew her tail from her eyes.

"Uhh... Dovepaw?" Ivypaw murmured, then her eyes flew wide open and she leaped to her paws. But before she could yowl, "Dovepaw!" Lionblaze quickly pointed to the entrance of the den. Ivypaw stopped to listen to the WindClan cats talking, and then added, "Oh. Now I remember."

"We're going to bring you back to ThunderClan, Ivypaw," Dovepaw whispered. "Umm... Lionblaze...?"

"Yes," Lionblaze mewed quietly. "But you've got to be quiet when we leave. It's better to leave unnoticed, but if we can't do that, then we'll have to run for it."

"OK." Ivypaw nodded. She stared at the WindClan cats. They seemed to be chatting some more. "We can't get out now, can we?"

"We could get out by the medicine den," Dovepaw answered.

"That seems good," Lionblaze agreed. "But we can't really get back, because we have to pass the nursery again, and a kit is bound to hear us."

"But no one heard us when we came in," Dovepaw pointed out.

"Yes, but we made a run for it. Now we have to stalk back."

"Oh... I get it. Then I guess we have to run for it."

The three cats decided to eavesdrop on the WindClan cats while they waited.

"So you want to go and pick up the herbs now?" Breezepelt asked. "Well, we can, but who's going to look after the apprentice?"

"She's sleeping right now," Heathertail assured him. "I can go and check."

Immediately, Breezepelt protested. "What if she is awake and attacks you?"

Heathertail sighed, impatient now. "Breezepelt, she's an apprentice. Like an apprentice can defeat me, OK? And I don't really need help if she does attack me. Seriously," she added when Breezepelt was about to protest some more.

"Just let her," Harespring meowed. "We're wasting time, anyway."

Breezepelt nodded and Heathertail advanced the leader's former den. Lionblaze and Dovepaw were immediately pushed back by Ivypaw. "Hide in the shadows!" Ivypaw hissed. Lionblaze and Dovepaw did just that.

Heathertail poked her head in. Ivypaw stared at her. "What do you want?" the apprentice snarled.

"Nothing, really," Heathertail replied. "I was just checking."

"And isn't it supposed to be Breezepelt and Harespring checking? Aren't you looking after your kits?" Ivypaw growled.

"Well, I'm going to collect herbs, and the two toms and coming with me," Heathertail answered. "And you better stay put, OK? Otherwise, once I catch you, I'll rip your throat out." Lionblaze felt like ripping Heathertail's throat out before she touched Ivypaw. Dovepaw, too, felt the same as well.

"Not before I rip yours, Heathertail," Ivypaw replied coldly. Heathertail purred and left the den, shouting to Breezepelt and Harespring, "She's fine. Let's go; it's a surprise for Barkface."

Once the coast was clear, Lionblaze, Dovepaw and Ivypaw quickly ran out of the den and decided to go past the nursery and into the medicine cat den. They did what they did before; race past the nursery. Except the moment they did that, a squeal broke in there, and it turned out that one of Heathertail's kits – Goldenkit, to be exact – was screaming for milk.

That could've woke up everyone in camp. The ThunderClan cats didn't have much time.

"Hurry!" Lionblaze hissed. "Into the medicine den!" They dived in there and squeezed into the hole and out of camp. Just at the moment they left, Onestar had entered the medicine den. Barkface was wide awake when they ran into the den.

"What's the squealing about?" the WindClan leader growled.

"Just a kit," Barkface assured him. "Heathertail will treat to it."

But the squealing went on and on, and soon Onestar was getting restless.

"Where's Heathertail?" the voice came from Emberfoot. "I can't see her in the nursery."

"Let's go," Lionblaze mewed to the two apprentices. "We need to get back before anyone spots us." He was about to move when Dovepaw hissed, "But Breezepelt and Harespring are guarding the ThunderClan border! How can we get past?"

"And why's he?" Ivypaw asked.

"I don't know..." Dovepaw replied.

"Where's Heathertail, then?" Lionblaze meowed. "Shouldn't she tell Breezepelt off or something?"

"She's looking at the herbs," Dovepaw answered, "although they don't look like herbs that Jayfeather uses. I think they're bright red berries... she's telling Breezepelt that she'd have to grab them with her teeth quite tightly because she's taking a lot of them..." Then the apprentice gasped. "That's deathberries!"

Lionblaze stared at her in shock. Heathertail was going to die if she touched them. "Let's go and stop her!"

"No way," Ivypaw mewed disgustedly. "Let her die. I'd rather see her dead than see her mock me."

But some part of Lionblaze wanted them to save Heathertail. Even though they showed much, much hostility towards each other, Lionblaze couldn't forget the time that they spent together when they were younger. They had been best friends, never thinking about the time that had to face each other in battle... until Lionblaze himself brought it up.

"No," Lionblaze said firmly. "We're going to help her, whether you like it or not."

"What?" There was a hint of amusement in Ivypaw's eyes. "You like her?"

"I do not," Lionblaze snapped. "I just don't want to see a cat die. Instinct," he added.

"Oh..."

"Whatever," Dovepaw hissed. "Let's get out of here before we get caught by Onestar himself and get busted!"

They quickly ran off – Dovepaw leading – and it was only a heartbeat later when they reached the border. They saw Heathertail there, reaching out with her jaws to grab the berries that would lead to her death. Breezepelt was staring at the three ThunderClan cats in shock and anger, and so was Harespring.

Quickly, Lionblaze jumped out in front of Heathertail and yowled, "NO!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry, but this was longer than expected. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think about it through a review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**A/N: **Wondering what happens? Well, hurry up and read it, then!

Heathertail glanced at Lionblaze in surprise. "Lionblaze!" she gasped. "What in the name of StarClan are you –"

"Don't touch the deathberries!" Ivypaw interrupted her speech. "They'll kill you!"

The WindClan queen stared at the berries in shock. "D-deathberries?" she stammered. "T-then I was going t-to..."

"... to kill yourself," Lionblaze finished. He stared in seriousness at Heathertail. "You shouldn't have thought about going to get herbs you've never seen to Barkface. You could've died, you know. And then what would happen to your kits? Think about safety first –"

"Who cares about that?" Breezepelt demanded. "She's still alive now. What are you doing in WindClan territory? And why's the lame apprentice with you?"

Ivypaw unsheathed her claws. "How dare you call me lame!" she hissed. "I'll bite your neck until I see the blood drain from you!"

"What do you mean by 'who cares'?" Heathertail yowled to her mate. "You didn't even know what I was going to eat. And now you're saying 'who cares'? You don't really care for me, do you? You've only become my mate because you wanted kits that would become like Tigerstar, right?"

"Don't talk about my dreams about Tigerstar so loudly!" Breezepelt snapped. "Now they all know!"

Harespring stared quizzically at Breezepelt. "Dreams about Tigerstar?" he asked.

Lionblaze gasped in shock. "So you mean that Breezepelt is also being influenced by Tigerstar?"

Heathertail and Breezepelt didn't seem to hear him. "Did I say that I never loved you?" Breezepelt growled. "I really did! And you never realised this, did you? And I only told you the secret about me having dreams about the Dark Forest and Tigerstar because you're my mate and I am very, very fond of you! I wouldn't tell anyone else, would I?"

"Then what's with the 'who cares' then, huh?" Heathertail hissed.

"Please stop arguing!" Harespring snapped. "What about the ThunderClan –"

"Run!" Lionblaze yowled, and the three ThunderClan cats ran off back to their territory. Dawn was almost to come, and they wanted to surprise the rest by bringing Ivypaw back. And Lionblaze wanted to impress Cinderheart, too.

"Hey!" Breezepelt shouted. "Now look, Heathertail! You distracted us, and now see! They're running away! Harespring, we're going after them!"

"Then you'll get into even more trouble!" Heathertail snapped. Their arguing soon faded away into distant echoes as the three cats slipped through the dirtplace tunnel.

"So... now what?" Dovepaw asked. "We never told anyone we were going, so how are we going to show our appearance with Ivypaw?"

"Umm..." Lionblaze didn't know what to do. He glanced at Ivypaw.

"That means... you've came to the WindClan camp at your own free will?" Ivypaw asked. "You never negotiated this with Firestar?"

"No," admitted Lionblaze.

Ivypaw sighed. "Well, the only option now is to go in together, then. But don't blame me if you guys get into trouble," she added seriously. "I'm not the one who didn't ask for Firestar's permission to go and save someone."

Dovepaw replied, staring at Lionblaze. "Well, _I _wasn't wanting to sneak into WindClan territory to fetch you. But I really wanted to see you back in ThunderClan again."

"Well, what matters now is that your safe," Lionblaze meowed, "and that they didn't harm you."

"What happened once you were captured by WindClan?" Dovepaw asked curiously.

Ivypaw opened her jaws to speak, but was interrupted by Lionblaze. "It's slightly past dawn already," he hissed. "We better make our appearance through the camp entrance, or else we'd look more suspicious."

Dovepaw nodded, and after thinking a moment, Ivypaw agreed with a faint meow. They exited the dirtplace tunnel and padded through to the entrance.

Lionblaze stopped when they reached the entrance of the camp. "No one's guarding the entrance now," he reported after examining the camp tunnel. "Though the smell is fresh. I'm guessing that they're switching guards."

"Should we go in now, then?" Ivypaw hissed.

Lionblaze shrugged. "I guess, he muttered, padding through the tunnel that led into camp. The two siblings glanced at each other and followed the golden warrior as he made his way into camp. Lionblaze could feel the sun blazing right towards him as he exited the tunnel and was exposed to the sun.

The golden tabby tom immediately felt awkward and embarrassed when he noticed cats staring at him suspiciously. Their faces soon turned to shock when they realised that Ivypaw was behind him. They just stood there – frozen – as though they could not believe that Ivypaw was back.

Lionblaze was about to say something when a cry of delight was heard from the warrior's den. Whitewing quickly ran out and nuzzled Ivypaw all over.

"I thought I'd lose you!" Whitewing gasped.

By then almost everyone in camp was out of the dens, watching Ivypaw in surprise as the apprentice tried to duck away from her mother's movements. Jayfeather only just exited the medicine cat den, his ears angled towards the crowd of cats surrounding Ivypaw. Birchfall was next to his mate in a heartbeat, half-happy an half-shocked at the sight of his daughter.

Ivypaw meowed, "Of course you wouldn't lose me. I'm not that easy to defeat, anyway." Dovepaw purred with amusement; it seemed that everyone was happy now, until Lionblaze noticed that a few cats were glaring at him.

Dustpelt was one of the first to speak. "You stupid mouse-brain!" he snapped to Lionblaze. "Did you go all the way into WindClan territory in their camp to get Ivypaw back?"

"Then how else would he have got her?" Dovepaw demanded, defending Lionblaze instantly.

"Now they'd think that we want to have a fight with them!" Thornclaw hissed in reply. "Look at what you've done now! We're already in enough trouble as it is!"

A voice sounded behind Lionblaze. "What's going on here?"

It was Firestar. Lionblaze turned around to see the ThunderClan leader padding towards them out of the leader's den, his flame-coloured coat shining like the sun above him. Lionblaze had to squint to see him properly. Now he wished he hadn't. After Firestar took a quick glance at Ivypaw, his eyes were cold as he stared at Lionblaze. "You should've waited until I gave the order for us to retrieve her," he growled. "Onestar must now think that we want a fight with him, no?"

"At least I'm safe now!" Ivypaw mewed angrily from where she was. Whitewing immediately gave her an angry glance.

"Your safe, but now we're in even more danger!" Berrynose snapped.

Thornclaw nodded. "What if they're coming to attack us now?" he asked, eyes challenging as he stared around the rest of the Clan.

Lionblaze felt uneasy. He thought their expressions would be the exact _opposite _as it was now. His eyes met Dovepaw's. She was staring at him worriedly, not knowing what to do. Some of the cats around here were not angry about his actions, whereas the rest were just plain staring at him angrily.

"Then we shall be prepared for them," Firestar announced. He glanced at Brambleclaw. "We need to have the nursery heavily guarded. They might want to steal kits this time, knowing that our apprentice was smart enough to flee."

Brambleclaw nodded and ordered Graystripe, Icecloud and Spiderleg to join him as they went to comfort the queens and explain what was happening.

"Dustpelt," Firestar continued. The dark brown tabby tom's ears instantly pricked, eagerly listening. "I want you to lead a border patrol to the WindClan border. We have to be sure that they're not in out territory yet."

Dovepaw padded up to Lionblaze. "What should we do?" she muttered, her eyes giving away her confusion.

"I don't know," Lionblaze replied honestly, still watching what Firestar wanted to happen around camp.

"... and Brackenfur," the leader went on. "Please go and send a hunting patrol out. We may need a lot of strength for this fight. Jayfeather, make sure that we have enough healing herbs," he added. Jayfeather dipped his head.

"OK," he meowed. Before he moved, he stared at Lionblaze with his sightless eyes questioningly, as though he wanted to know what happened. Then he headed to his den.

Soon most of the cats had gone. Firestar turned to Lionblaze and Dovepaw. Lionblaze flinched when he saw Firestar's disapproving face. He was definitely in trouble; no doubt. Dovepaw seemed to be the only comfort here. Ivypaw had just left with Whitewing and Birchfall to the medicine den for any signs of injury.

"You knew that I would have thought of a way to save Ivypaw anyway, didn't you?" he asked coldly. "I even said about this last time." He meant about the meeting before Lionblaze and Dovepaw snuck out to save Ivypaw.

Lionblaze hung his head apologetically. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Firestar nodded. "And you, Dovepaw?" he asked.

Dovepaw ducked her head too. "Sorry," she meowed.

The ThunderClan leader nodded approvingly. "Good," he replied. "I hope that you are aware that your actions have done a terrible thing to ThunderClan. Be sure that you think twice before you do what you want." He retreated back to his den, his tail swishing with annoyance.

"He didn't even punish us!" Dovepaw hissed.

Lionblaze blinked. That was true. Firestar didn't mention anything about punishment. Was it that maybe Firestar wanted them to go and retrieve Ivypaw from WindClan? Or was it because Firestar was _scared, _because after all, he knew that Lionblaze, Dovepaw and Jayfeather were part of the Three?

"Let's go to Jayfeather first," Lionblaze suggested, deciding to act as though he didn't hear Dovepaw's speech. He felt that Jayfeather needed to know what happened.

Dovepaw sighed, as though she was angry that Lionblaze was purposely not listening to her. "OK, fine," she meowed, and they headed off to the medicine cat den. As they entered, they saw Ivypaw with her parents behind her, anxiously asking Jayfeather if there were any injuries. Lionblaze could feel Jayfeather's anger and annoyance as he meowed through gritted teeth billions of times that there was nothing wrong with her, and that they could leave.

Jayfeather noticed the arrival of Lionblaze and Dovepaw. "As you can see," he meowed to Whitewing and Birchfall, "we have new injured cats here, so if you may..."

Whitewing finally sighed and nodded. "I guess we're just going to be a bother to Jayfeather if we continue like this," she meowed to Birchfall. "Let's go."

Ivypaw rolled her eyes at Dovepaw. Lionblaze and Dovepaw both purred with amusement as they watched the three cats left. Jayfeather sighed, completely annoyed, and muttered, "Finally! I was about to age and die if they didn't come." Now it was serious time, as Jayfeather turned around to face Lionblaze and Dovepaw.

"Why'd you guys leave?" he asked curiously.

"I really wanted to see my sister again!" Dovepaw answered immediately.

Jayfeather sighed. "You still could've seen her if Cinderheart and Mousewhisker went to fetch her, you know." He glanced at Lionblaze. "You must've wanted to go out to, if you did. Why?"

Lionblaze gulped. What should he say? Saying just what Dovepaw said wouldn't mean anything. Plus, with Jayfeather's hard stare, Lionblaze didn't think that he could lie. After all, Jayfeather knew whether you were lying or not. He could just walk into your thoughts.

With a resigned sigh, Lionblaze replied, "I did it to impress Cinderheart."

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update! Please review and thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**A/N: **A world of love, rivalry and what else? Continue on reading!

Lionblaze dropped his squirrel and mouse on the fresh-kill pile. It was already around a quarter of a moon since Ivypaw returned. Leaf-bare had just begun, and the fresh-kill pile was lessening with prey, as they have all hid in their burrows, refusing to come out. Cinderheart was spending less and less time with Lionblaze now, as she was using that spare time with Mousewhisker. In fact, she was spending basically _all _her time with Mousewhisker, if not training Ivypaw.

Angry at the thought, Lionblaze stomped back to the warrior's den, even though it was just past sunhigh. He curled around his nest, which was nests away from Cinderheart's and Mousewhisker's and forced himself to sleep. Except he couldn't sleep. His thoughts were floating back to Cinderheart. The cat who loved him. The cat who _used _to love him, that is.

Suddenly a cat entered the den. Lionblaze pretended he was asleep. He didn't want anyone to talk to him. There were two voices, in fact. One was Mousewhisker. The other was Berrynose. What were they doing here? Still pretending to sleep, Lionblaze decided to eavesdrop on them.

"Good." Berrynose was nodding. "If you can continue on with that, then he'd grow weaker and weaker and I'd be able to finish him off by killing him."

Lionblaze was listening intently now, wondering what they were talking about. Killing who?

"But he might kill me before you even get the chance," Mousewhisker meowed hesitantly. "I'm not sure I want to do this anymore."

_Do what? _Lionblaze thought frustratedly, but kept his feelings to himself. _That's what I want to know!_

"This was well-planned out!" Berrynose protested. "If you just suddenly not want to do it anymore, then what's going to happen?" He stopped talking when another cat entered the den. Brackenfur. He stopped and it felt as though he was staring sternly at the two toms.

"What are you doing just standing there like frozen stones?" he snapped. "It's leaf-bare; we need to _work_. Now hurry up and join the hunting patrol, seeing as you have nothing else to do. Hurry up!" he added when he noticed that they were still standing. "Or do you want to miss dinner?"

They didn't want that, so they bolted out of the den to meet the cold afternoon. Brackenfur took a glance at Lionblaze and left.

Now alone, Lionblaze blinked open his eyes and stretched. In a sitting position, Lionblaze started to wash his fur. What had just happened? Kill who? What for? Did this victim do something so bad that Berrynose wanted to kill him? Lionblaze's first instinct was to tell Firestar. The ThunderClan leader had a right to know. Yet Lionblaze felt as though Firestar wouldn't react to it. It was just like the time when Jayfeather tried to talk about RiverClan. Firestar didn't do anything.

After licking his fur, Lionblaze exited the warrior's den and met the coldness of the air once more. He spotted the tails of the hunting patrol just leaving, Mousewhisker's shivering tail's tip twitching with...fear, was it? Lionblaze saw Cinderheart padding to the medicine den.

Should he go after her? How would Cinderheart react? Lionblaze didn't know what to do. Now that he knew that Cinderheart was chasing another cat, would she still call Lionblaze a friend? She hadn't spoken to him much lately; her time was more spend with Mousewhisker.

Suddenly, Cinderheart stopped going to the medicine den and ran straight out into the forest. What happened? Lionblaze knew that this time he had to find out what was wrong. He too bolted out of the forest. He noticed that Sandstorm was watching him, but he didn't have time for that. He needed to know what was going on. He saw Cinderheart leaping over the falling tree, having no difficulty. It reminded him of when Cinderheart had her broken leg.

She turned into the direction of the lake. Lionblaze's curiosity grew. Whatever happened, Cinderheart was really terrified, and she was running faster than ever before. Although Lionblaze didn't want to, something made him yowl, "Cinderheart!"

Cinderheart stopped abruptly, leaving Lionblaze to scrabble on the floor, attempting to halt. He crashed into Cinderheart, who was still staring in shock at Lionblaze, her eyes wide with fear. Lionblaze quickly sat up straight, faintly embarrassed.

"What were you doing, running so fast like that?" Lionblaze asked, suspicion growing.

Cinderheart shook her fur for a moment, inhaled and exhaled before answering, "I-I...thought that you...you..." She shook her head, as though not willing to continue her speech. "L-let's go back..." She took a step forward and stumbled. She was running too hard, Lionblaze realised.

He helped Cinderheart back up. "Here," he meowed, "let me help you." Cinderheart blinked at him gratefully, and you could see heavy relief in her eyes. Why was she so relieved, anyway? Curiosity burned within the golden tabby warrior, but he didn't dare press the she-cat any further. She was too tired as it was.

But soon his curiosity got the better of him. Glancing at Cinderheart he meowed, "Why did you suddenly bolt out of camp?"

Cinderheart stared at him and then mewed in reply, "Private matters. That's all. Nothing too serious." But it was obvious that it _was _a serious matter. And Lionblaze desperately wanted to know. Maybe he could help Cinderheart with whatever was going on.

Once they returned to camp, Lionblaze noticed the tension among the Clan cats. What was going on? Then he noticed a smell that was different. WindClan! He sniffed again. Definitely WindClan. He was sure of it. Wondering who, he glanced at the direction of where everyone was staring. Cinderheart followed his gaze.

Onestar? And Breezepelt?

_What in the name of StarClan are they doing here? _Lionblaze wondered silently. The WindClan leader was staring around the ThunderClan cats. His gaze locked with Lionblaze's. There was cold hatred in his eyes, as though he wanted revenge. _If it's about Ivypaw, _he thought. _It's Onestar's fault. Why bother keeping her captive?_

"What is it that you want?" Firestar demanded from where he was standing on Highledge, glaring angrily at the newcomers. Breezepelt acted all 'high-'n'-mighty' as he usually did, but there was a hint of mock on his face as he stared at Lionblaze. The golden warrior lifted his head up defiantly in return.

"Is it true that two of your cats had trespassed on our territory?" Onestar demanded.

Dovepaw, who was trembling with outrage before, blew out her fury. "Can you explain the reason why you ambushed us and captured Ivypaw, which led to the reason why we trespassed on your territory to retrieve her?"

Whitewing glared at her daughter. "Dovepaw!" she hissed, grabbing Dovepaw by the scruff and hauling her away, flushing with embarrassment. "Don't talk so rudely like that, especially in front of someone with much more authority than you!"

Onestar was surprised. "I wasn't talking about _that _incident," he meowed, swishing his tail with annoyance. "I was more of talking about the recent one. Two days ago, to be precise. Breezepelt reported two ThunderClan cats on WindClan territory and when I came over to confirm the report, I could scent ThunderClan smell all over, and the bones of a rabbit." He glared at Firestar. "Do you deny this?"

"I do not know of such a thing," Firestar replied calmly and steadily, although his eyes were burning with curiosity as he gazed at his Clan, as though wondering who the two trespassers were. "Perhaps you were mistaken, Onestar."

Breezepelt scoffed, "How can you mistake the stinking smell of ThunderClan cats?"

"Be quiet," Onestar commanded him, flicking his tail impatiently. He then twitched his ear. "The scent was definitely ThunderClan. There is no doubt about that. There was also two individual smells we could make out in the area. It's obvious that there was more than one cat that was present then."

Sorreltail sprang to her paws. "Or maybe you're both making this up?" she meowed, her eyes blazing with disbelief. "No way! No one in our Clan would do something like that!"

Breezepelt then stared at Lionblaze. The look that he gave him sent Lionblaze shuddering in understanding. Now he knew why Breezepelt was giving him that stare. But it wasn't true! Lionblaze had never even _touch _WindClan territory since a quarter moon ago. He was about to say something when Onestar butted in.

"Fortunately for us, Breezepelt recognised the two cats." He drew his gaze towards Dovepaw, then Lionblaze. The rest of the Clan followed his gaze, and stared at the two cats in confusion. Lionblaze himself looked just as puzzled, but then it was replaced by pure anger.

"I swear I didn't go on WindClan territory!" he protested. "There's no way I could've! Two days ago I was –"

"Oh, excuses, excuses," Breezepelt meowed, interrupting him. Lionblaze glared at him so hard that Breezepelt took a step back. How could he? And all because Lionblaze and Dovepaw had went onto WindClan territory to retrieve their own ThunderClan apprentice!

Dovepaw spat. "And where's the proof, would you mind asking? Was it just Breezepelt who witnessed this false event?"

Firestar butted in. "Look, I think that there is some mistake here," he began. "But as you can see here, I'm pretty sure that Lionblaze and Dovepaw have not gone onto WindClan territory. I recall two days ago I sent Lionblaze, Cinderheart and their two apprentices to train together in the sandy clearing. And we can ask Cinderheart for proof that they didn't leave." He turned to face Cinderheart. "Did Lionblaze and Dovepaw suddenly disappear during that training lesson?"

'_Although we barely talk to each other anymore, Cinderheart knows not to lie,' _Lionblaze thought. _'And then Breezepelt will get into huge trouble.'_ But he half wished that he could sink his claws into Breezepelt's neck. The more he thought about it, the more the anger rose. But at least seeing Breezepelt scolded by his leader was something.

Cinderheart glanced at her paws, and Lionblaze wondered what was taking so long. It was only a "No. Lionblaze and his apprentice was with us the whole time." She stared at Mousewhisker, who was sitting next to her, and then stared straight at the WindClan leader.

And then Cinderheart's reply shocked Lionblaze. "He did disappear. For a short while I barely noticed it. But when he returned he smelt slightly different. Dovepaw was just the same like him." When she finished she did not meet Lionblaze's stunned gaze. Instead she just closed her eyes and hanged her head down.

**A/N: **I'm pretty sure you're wondering why Cinderheart went all hysterical at the lake and then lying at the end of the chapter. It will all be revealed in the following chapters!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**A/N: **I'm back! Now let's commence the chapter!

Shock.

The one word that was buzzing through Lionblaze's mind for a long while. Dovepaw, who struggled free of Whitewing's gasp, went to stand beside Lionblaze and spat straight at Cinderheart, "You liar! We didn't even put a single PAW on WindClan territory!" She swivelled her glance to Ivypaw, her sibling. "Right, Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw opened her mouth, and Lionblaze thought that she was going to stick to Dovepaw's side as well when instead she meowed, "You did disappear, Dovepaw. Cinderheart wasn't lying."

Dovepaw stared at her sister, stunned, only to be replaced by anger. Whitewing quickly rushed over to her daughters and pushed them out of the front of the crowd. The rest of the Clans' eyes followed them before they retreated back to Lionblaze, who still couldn't believe it. Of _course _he didn't go anywhere! He remembered quite clearly that he was teaching Dovepaw a few self-defence moves, while Cinderheart and Ivypaw watched and copied them.

Firestar turned to face Lionblaze, looking quite annoyed. "Do you have anything to say, Lionblaze?" he asked, his eyes cold.

"I'm not lying . . ." Lionblaze knew that his words seemed like false talk to the others, after Cinderheart's and Ivypaw's "claims". Breezepelt sneered at Lionblaze, who turned away, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. One day he would slit Breezepelt's throat off and get his revenge for what was happening.

He locked gazes with Jayfeather before he even knew it. Jayfeather narrowed his eyes, questioningly, as though asking him silently whether what Cinderheart said was true. Lionblaze answered it by shaking his head slightly. Jayfeather did a short nod before flicking his tail, indicating that Firestar looked like he was going to say something. Lionblaze turned back.

"We'll discuss about this later," he meowed. Turning to Onestar and Breezepelt he told them, "You two can leave. What I do to Lionblaze is none of your concerns."

Onestar nodded politely but looking quite unfriendly. He signalled to Breezepelt and both the cats turned and padded off out of the ThunderClan camp. Before Breezepelt disappeared, however, he shot Lionblaze a look of triumph and pride before exiting. This gesture made Lionblaze claw the earth, unleashing his fury on the solid ground below him.

Firestar set his gaze on the Clan. "Meeting dismissed."

"But what do we do with Lionblaze and Dovepaw?" Thornclaw asked. "They've done the wrong thing."

'_I did not!' _Lionblaze thought angrily. Whatever respect he had for the senior warrior – if there was any respect, that is – immediately vanished. He glared at Cinderheart, who was looking quite uncomfortable. Mousewhisker threw back a stare at Lionblaze, looking pretty proud of himself. Lionblaze hissed.

"I will discuss with Lionblaze and Dovepaw about their doing," Firestar replied calmly and steadily. Dustpelt snorted and muttered something to Thornclaw before returning to their duties. The rest of the Clan parted as well. Dovepaw quickly scurried up to Lionblaze and sighed with frustration, sitting down. Lionblaze felt exactly how she did too. They both heard the sound of pawsteps and looked up to see Firestar advancing them. Lionblaze braced himself for a lecture of some sort.

Instead, to Lionblaze's surprise, Firestar asked, "You didn't go to WindClan territory, did you?" He sounded doubtful, as though he did not know what to believe.

Dovepaw leaped to her paws. "Of course we didn't!" she answered, her tail lashing from side to side, looking like she could claw someone. "I don't know what happened with Cinderheart and Ivypaw, but Lionblaze and I were _really _battle training! Someone must've threatened Cinderheart not to, or maybe –"

"You're yowling, Dovepaw," Firestar interrupted. "Do you want the whole Clan to know what we are saying?" Lionblaze quickly stifled a purr of amusement when Dovepaw glanced around, realising that some cats were staring at her, flashing her weird looks.

"Umm . . . no," Dovepaw replied, her voice quickly dropping. She glanced down at her paws, flushing with embarrassment. "But we really didn't do anything . . ." she added, muttering.

Firestar sighed. "I don't know whether to believe you two or not," he meowed admittedly. "But I highly disbelieve that you would do such a thing. Perhaps Breezepelt mistook the two cats for you when it was actually another two ThunderClan cats. The possibilities could be endless. But," he added, "both Cinderheart and Ivypaw confirmed that you two did."

"That's the problem!" Lionblaze meowed, exasperated. "I don't know why they would side up with Breezepelt! Obviously something's up . . ."

Firestar thought for a moment, then finally said, "I still can't say that I don't believe you, but I don't believe you either. I'll be keeping a close eye on Cinderheart and Ivypaw to see if they speak the truth or not. At the same time, I'll be keeping an eye on you two. If anything suspicious happens, then I will know who's lying and who's not." Then he turned and walked off.

Lionblaze and Dovepaw both exchanged a glance. "Well, we don't have to worry," mewed Dovepaw. "After all, we didn't do anything wrong, so they won't ever suspect anything from us. It's just Cinderheart and Ivypaw. I can't believe they'd lie to the whole Clan!" Lionblaze could sense sparks of annoyance coming off her. At the same time, hurt was detected.

He rested the tip of his tail on Dovepaw's shoulder. "At the same time while Firestar is keeping an eye on all four of us, I'll be finding out why Cinderheart and Ivypaw said what they said."

Dovepaw narrowed her eyes. "Then wouldn't that make Firestar suspect us as well, because you'll be basically _stalking _Cinderheart wherever she goes. And then we'd end up getting punished instead of them, yes?" While Lionblaze thought about it, Dovepaw went on, "Plus, with my power, I can find out anyway."

Oh, right. Dovepaw's power. Lionblaze almost forgot about it. "You're right," Lionblaze agreed. "You can use your power. Anyway, you go and rest while I head out hunting."

Dovepaw rolled her eyes. "You're hunting to release your anger out, aren't you?" When Lionblaze didn't respond, she added, "Well, I want to as well. Let's just go hunting together." Lionblaze didn't really have anything to argue about. Having someone to hunt with him didn't sound like a bad idea.

The two cats set off out of camp. On the way, they passed Berrynose, who twitched his whiskers and meowed to Mousewhisker, loud enough for Lionblaze to hear, "Hey, I bet they're going out of camp to do hunt on WindClan territory again. What do you think?"

Lionblaze scowled but continued to head out, Dovepaw following him. Before they left, Lionblaze only faintly heard Mousewhisker's voice as he said something along the lines of ". . . going too far . . . Cinderheart getting caught . . ."

Dovepaw rushed up to Lionblaze. "Did you hear their conversation?" Lionblaze shook his head. "I can't believe it. They _persuaded _Cinderheart and Ivypaw to lie to the whole Clan. Wait, let me rephrase that. They _forced _Cinderheart and Ivypaw to lie to the whole Clan."

Her gaze met Lionblaze's utterly shocked one. "No way," Lionblaze whispered, horrified. "How could they force them to do that?"

Dovepaw shrugged. "They must have threatened to kill them or something to make them say what they said. You know, I would usually never use my power for doing things like this, but really, they've reached the limit. I'm going to find out why they are doing this to us."

Lionblaze glanced at her. "Not us," he meowed. "I think it's all aimed towards _me._"

**A/N: **Gasp! Sorry for the short chapter! But I promise I'll make the next chapter even longer! Review~


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